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A Brief Introduction to the New Lock Screen in iOS 10

When your phone restarts after updating to iOS 10, you’ll notice the lock screen has some major changes. This post will hopefully give you an understanding of the iOS 10 lock screen, and how to navigate it.

Note: This entry refers to “swiping.” For VoiceOver users, this is a three-finger flick; for those who do not use VoiceOver, it is a one finger swipe in the directions stated.

Firstly, slide to unlock is officially dead. All directions which you could use to get from your lock screen to your home screen are now taken by other features.

If you swipe from left to right, you will find iOS 10’s Widgets. This can contain anything from Weather, Calendar, and Traffic information, to third-party widgets.

Swiping right to left will launch the camera.

Swiping down with one or three fingers respectively, will get you the Notification Center, just like anywhere else in iOS.

Lastly, swiping up from the bottom of the screen will launch Control Center, just like everywhere in iOS.

Although you can disable as many or as few of these sections as you please, you cannot get your Slide to Unlock functionality back.

So, how do you unlock your phone?

By default, you press the home button. Yes, this is even the default behavior for devices with Touch ID.

This method of unlocking an iOS device was implemented because touch ID was too fast for some users, preventing them from reading their notifications on the lock screen.

If you would prefer to unlock your device with Touch ID, instead of having to press the home button, follow these steps:

Open Settings.

Tap General, Accessibility, Home Button.

Enable “Rest Finger to Open.”

The new lock screen in iOS 10 will be something for most people to get used to, but we hope this post helps a little with the transition process.

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About Jessica

Hi, I am Jessica; my friends call me Yessie. I am from North Carolina, and I am the creator of the Blinkie Chicks. I love technology, and I believe it has the power to drastically improve quality of life for all people, especially those with disabilities. I am passionate about advocacy, especially self-advocacy, and changing society’s perceptions of blind and visually impaired people. I love my family, friends, and my dog. I enjoy writing and making videos about technology, traveling, and spending time with loved ones. I believe laughter is the best medicine.